Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against Accelerant Insurance UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

L, a company operating multiple businesses, purchased a commercial property insurance policy for a newly acquired pub through a broker. Accelerant avoided the policy and declined L's claim after discovering that L had failed to disclose an adjacent petrol station. L disputed this, arguing the petrol station was on separate land and that Accelerant had previously insured similar risk profiles. The ombudsman found that although the properties had separate boundaries, they were on the same forecourt and the broker's risk profile document had indicated that surrounding properties were material information. Accelerant provided statements from four underwriters confirming they would not have insured the risk given the proximity of fuel infrastructure to the pub building. The ombudsman upheld Accelerant's avoidance as justified under the Insurance Act 2015.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Insurance Act 2015, which requires fair presentation of risk. Although L's broker provided a risk profile mentioning surrounding properties and shared access, it failed to disclose the petrol station despite disclosing the shop on the same forecourt. This constituted a failure to make fair presentation. For avoidance to be justified, Accelerant had to demonstrate it would not have offered the policy at all if the breach had not occurred. Accelerant provided detailed statements from four underwriters confirming they would not have insured the risk given the proximity of fuel pumps, manholes and underground fuel tanks to the pub building. The ombudsman found this sufficient evidence that the breach was qualifying and avoidance was justified.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website